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Sunday, August 31, 2008

First Week Down...Several More To Go....

Well, we made it through the first week of Kindergarten! Tatum LOVES it! She still wants me to walk her into the school every morning, instead of dropping her off in the car pool line, but that's OK with me! I know she is where she needs to be when I leave. I started volunteering at her school on Fridays. I will be working in the Workroom, making copies, laminating, etc. for the teachers. It was fun, and gets me involved in her school, and meeting new people! Her teacher, Mrs. Paine is great! She is even a Southern Living fan, so that will be fun too! Because Tatum had such a great first week, we told her we would get her something special as a treat for good behavior and learning at school. We went tonight and bought her a new "big girl" bike. She is so excited! It has training wheels, but Tatum and Daddy are looking to learn to ride without those very soon! It was dark by the time we got home from the store tonight, so she will get out there first thing tomorrow! I can't believe my little baby is growing up!!! I am looking forward to many more "firsts" with Tatum! It is so much fun!!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Tatum's 1st Day of Kindergarten...

Well, my baby is at Kindergarten!!! All day long!!! She was so excited to start school full time. After a very long night, at 4am this morning, I was not sure we were going to make it there today! She woke up at 11pm, last night throwing up a little. Then woke up again at 1:30am, with probably one of the scariest croup episodes I have seen in at least 3 years. We gave her a breathing treatment, some steroid meds, and a sat with her in a steamy bathroom. At 4am, I was still panicking, woke Richard up to ask him if he thought we should take her to the ER. He, being cool, calm, and collected...(maybe he is trained to be that way??) said that she was not struggling to breath as hard anymore, and was just stuffed up. After searching around on the Internet to see what else I could do for her, and if I could give her a second treatment before 24 hours, I decided to call the after-hours nurse. She called me back at 4:40am, and ended up being able to call me in a prescription for another breathing treatment we use to give her. We let Tatum sleep, and decided to go get the prescription when the alarm went off this morning. Tatum woke up to the alarm in our bed, and said "I feel better mom!!" Thank GOD! I was really upset, thinking that she was going to be sick for her first day of school, and not get to go. So, Richard went and got the medicine, we gave her another treatment after her breakfast, and took her to school...with only a runny nose to show for it!! She will probably definitely sleep at nap time in school today!

When we got to school, Nana met us, and walked in with us. We found her cubby, put her backpack away, then began the search for Tatum's name tag on the table. She found her spot and began to play nicely at the table, waiting for class to start! She was all smiles...and a little runny nose!! We all gave her kisses, and told her good-bye! She waved us on, and out we went. A little teary eyed...me and Nana, not Tatum! Richard and I took Nana down to see the Gym, Cafeteria, and Library, then we left the building. 8:45am-3:45pm, seems like a long day, maybe for me, but I know that Tatum is having a BLAST!!!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Colorado Vacation, 2008...

We just got back from a great Family Vacation in Colorado. We originally went for my sister's wedding, then made it into a fun trip, with lots of exciting activities! I will break up the pictures into the different events and towns we visited. We started out in Estes Park for the wedding, spent 5 days there, playing and shopping, then went to Breckenridge for a day, then off to Stonewall for 2 days to finish off the vacation. We had tons of fun, but we were ready to head home. There is only so much time you can spend with 13 family members. Tension rises, and it was time for a break. I think that we said we would never take another Family trip like this, when we got back last summer, but we did....and we are glad we did!! So, enjoy the pictures....


Estes Park was fun! The town is small, but we found lots to do. The guys went fishing everyday. All us girls went on a Horseback Breakfast Ride one morning. We all went to a Fun Park, with Go-Carts, Bumper boats, Bumper cars, and Putt-Putt. Tatum was so big, and got to do the Bumper boats and Bumper car all by herself! She had a blast! We ended our stay in Estes Park with a drive through the Rocky Mountain National Park. It was beautiful! There was one place where we could pull off the road and hike up to the snow and this HUGE rock boulder. I was in flip flops, so Richard took Tatum all the way up the climb the rocks. They were WAY up there! She loved it, and wasn't scared a bit! I was a little nervous watching her from only half way up!!


We went White Water Rafting while we were staying in Estes Park. We had to drive about an hour to get to the place, but it was well worth it! We had a huge group, 15 rafters. We rafted down the river, then had a BBQ lunch catered for us afterwards. The raft trip was so much fun. This was our second year to do it, so we were ready for some EXTREME rafting. Unfortunately, we had children in our group, and were going late in the season, to be able to have some real extreme rapids, but, I think we got our fix. Our guide was great. She was the only female guide on our trip, so of course, Richard and Andy had to give her a hard time. They made sure she was willing to take us on the most extreme route possible, to prove that girls can be extreme!! And she did! She made the trip so fun and exciting. During our last class IV rapid, she took us the most challenging way, and if we didn't do it right, we would have what they call a car wreck...and that we did! If you watch the video of our raft...I think it is the 2nd video, you will see us crash into a rock, it slammed into Richards back, we bounce off, and keep going a bit! This was a major accident, and we are so lucky that it wasn't worse. The rock hit Richard in the spine on his lower back where his life jacket was not protecting. He was out of it for a couple of minutes, not able to breathe. It bruised up immediately, but he was and is fine! Let's just hope that he can walk in a month or so!!! He was still able to continue, and even play volleyball after lunch, and beat the girls team once again! We will get them next year!!! Tatum and Emma stayed with my mom and Sally while we rafted, then met us at the Raft Shop after we got of the river. They had lunch with us, and the girls had a lot of fun playing in the water hose and sand! It was a great time, and we are so excited that Mountain White Water Descents took a lot of pictures and video for us to have as a keepsake!


Breckenridge was a short day with a little bit of shopping. Richard went fishing after breakfast while we went to Main Street and hit the shops! It was a beautiful day. Tatum got to play a little in the river, then it was back on the road to hard to Stonewall, 6 hours away!!!

Our last stop on this 10 day trip was in Stonewall. This is where we have spread my grandma and papa's ashes. It is in the Southern part of Colorado, but still very pretty. We stay in a big 7 bedroom house when we go so we can all stay together. There is a beautiful river that runs behind the house. We like to build a camp fire, and sit around talking and make s'mores. We also went on a hike one day. We left the little girls behind with Nana and Aunt Sally, and headed out to find the same place they hiked last year. After about a 45 minute car ride to find the trail head, we started our hike. We didn't get far before the guys had to stop and fish a little. Richard carved our initials in a tree on the trail. It was getting dark, we needed to get back to the car before the bears came out. Once in the car, we were talking about our carving, and realized we should have put Tatum's initial on there too! I guess we will have to go back next year and add the "T" to it as well!!
So, that rounds out our Family Vacation this summer! Tatum starts Kindergarten in a week, so we will be getting ready for that! I know that this trip will allow her to talk about fun things she was able to do over the summer break! We are already looking forward to next summer...maybe the beach this time!!!!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Twilight Til Dawn Party...

Not the best clarity with this picture, but what can you do, when you forget your camera and have to use the cell phone!?! Morgan, Shelby, and I made our Twilight Series shirts tonight before heading out to the Border's Book Store Twilight Til Dawn party. We patiently waited for the clock to strike midnight, so that we could purchase the 4th and final book of the Twilight Series! I, sadly to say, was the OLDEST person who was dressed in a "theme t-shirt" and it was not the most appropriate. It was cute though, and I loved it! I did get a dirty look from a "mom", who wasn't even there for the event! Oh well!! Shelby's shirt was PERFECT for her, since she is literally OBSESSED with the series! Morgan's was great because of all the political debates going on in the news! We drank Vampire Punch and watched all the young girls get so excited about everything going on around them. It was a fun experience, not one I will probably ever do again, but I do have a fun t-shirt to wear to the Twilight movie that comes out on December 12th!! Well, gotta go...I have a 754 page book, I need to start!! See ya in 3 days!!!!